Whistle while you whisky

Today I visited the Nikka whisky distillery near Sendai. I came away with two exciting, possibly life-changing revelations:

1. There is such a thing as delicious Japanese whisky. This is something that I have strongly disbelieved until today. Unfortunately the delicious whisky in question costs £50 a bottle.
2. There is such a thing as delicious blended whisky. This £50 whisky is a 17-year old blend of about five whiskies from two of Nikka's distilleries, one in Sendai and one up north in Hokkaido.

The founder of the Nikka company learned his trade in Scotland, so Nikka whisky tastes a lot like Scotch. The ones I tasted today were very smoky and peaty, but on the other hand incredibly fruity - a mix that sounds unappealing but actually works very well.